Daniel Ricciardo is a well-known personality in the paddock. His infectious smile and positive energy have garnered fans from around the world. However, ever since his move from Renault to McLaren, the switch hasn’t been successful as one hoped. Driving a different philosophy in McLaren, Ricciardo has struggled with the MCL35M in 2021 and is currently struggling with the MCL36.

At Red Bull, he was just as competitive as his then-teammate Max Verstappen. When he shifted to Renault, a move questioned by many, he struggled for a bit. However, he managed to turn it around in 2020 and even scored two podiums. With team boss Andreas Seidl admitting in 2021 that a car like the M CL35M requires a “special driving style”, it’s a mystery why Daniel is struggling. 

Why is Daniel struggling to drive the McLaren MCL36?

A recent video by Driver61 on YouTube explains why. Racing driver and coach, Scott Mansell recently revealed what he thinks as to why Daniel is struggling. “So what is Daniel Ricciardo’s driving style like?” he began.

Commenting that Daniel was at his peak during between 2014 to 2018, Scott pointed out the Red Bull cars had more downforce than any other team. However, the Renault engine until 2018 was the reason Red Bull missed out in the Turbo-hybrid era. “Now we know him, as last of the late-brakers, but really only that’s only when he is overtaking,” Mansell continued. 

“When Daniel was on a normal lap he would actually brake a little bit earlier than most other drivers and that helped because you can keep the car more level. Allowing Danny to turn in pretty aggressively and carry a high minimum speed through the corner”.

Technical expert Craig Scarborough also expressed his views in the same video. He argued that Daniel couldn’t get the car to be rotated through the corner in the way he wanted to. This would cause him to have massive understeer and the MCL35M in 2021 had a more stable rear end. 

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Scott added, “So it seems that the McLaren has a really strong rear end. It’s good on the brakes but can understeer a little bit. And according to various interviews over the last few years, this has caused an issue for Daniel.” 

How Lando Norris manages to beat Daniel Ricciardo?

As evident, the Red Bull has a very strong front end with lots of grip. This allowed Daniel Ricciardo to have more grip when going into the corner. So the question is, how does Daniel’s teammate Lando Norris drive the same car very well?

Well, Scott argues that Lando liked to set up his car with a hint of understeer. This allows him to jump on the throttle as early as possible on the corner exit. He further adds that Lando is natural with the car.

During Monaco, the same trend was noticed that Daniel is much less confident on the brakes in key corners. The same applied to Barcelona as well. Ricciardo was braking way earlier compared to his teammate; costing him lap time. 

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Clearly, Ricciardo isn’t confident in his car, and he needs time to get used to it. The question is how long before McLaren pulls the plug on his seat?